This is SOO not Happening
by GottaLuvSassyPonies
Summary: Rylee knows the Hunger Games aren't real. Obviously they aren't. But when her friend stumbles upon an object that hurls them into the future, things turn upside down. Only half of the trilogy is true. Suzanne Collins isn't who you think she is. The Hunger Games are still going. There is no District Thirteen. Everyone hates Katniss Everdeen. The Games weren't real- now they are.
1. Chapter 1

It was all going well until my foot tripped over a rock. And then it wasn't going so well.

That's right- my foot tripped, not me. I blame my foot. It always was so clumsy, you know. But that's not the point. The point is- I WAS LOSING!

I scrambled to my feet as my friends blew past me. Not even pausing to put my sneaker back on, I ran after them. I was not going to lose.

One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. The sound of my feet thudding on the hard-packed earth played a beat in my head. The wind whipped my hair back. My legs were moving so fast I could barely keep up with them. I felt like I was flying. The wind roared so loud in my ears, it blocked out the noise of everything else.

I passed my friends. I passed the dogs. The trees were whizzing past. I leaped over blackberry tendrils and flew over a log. Birds erupted from the brush around me. Then all the sudden I was falling. Falling? The scream that tore through my lungs was the same scream that woke me up.

I sat up panting. Here I was, dreaming about the thing I liked to do best and waking up from the thing I hated the most.

I felt like heart was in my throat, so, me being stupid, I tried to swallow it. At least it calmed me down a little as I laughed half-heartedly. I glanced at the clock- It was seven in the morning. I could try and sleep for another few hours (I never got up this early) or I could take a walk before I met my friends. I took the second option.

I got dressed and crept down the stairs and out the door. I tied my sneakers on and slid a hair-tie from my wrist. I finished putting my hair in a ponytail and jogged down the country road. As I passed the barn, I whistled and my lab/Australian Shepherd mix darted out to meet me. I stroked her long, glossy yellow fur as she licked my hand. Sweet Willow. I playfully tugged on one of her half-standing ears and took off down the road again with Willow at my heels.

Three hours later I walked down to the river. Two of my friends were already there. The tall dark haired boy waved at me. "Hey, Rylee!"

I waved back and then threw a look at my best friend, Haru, who shrugged her shoulders. "Neither have showed up yet."

"That's cool." I sat down on a rock. Usually I was the late one. "How are you guys?"

"Good." sighed Haru, flipping her blonde hair out of her face. "Jerkquad here won't shut up."

'Jerkqade', aka Dane, gave me a knowing look. "Haru's just being sensitive." Haru punched his arm.

I watched as Willow and Dane's German Shepherd, Cato, splashed around in the river. It was so like Dane to name his dog after a movie character. He could get downright obsessive about some movies. He even named his cat Percy. I stretched my legs out in the sun. They were cramping a little from my three hour hike. I couldn't imagine why.

"Luke's here."

Sure enough, Haru's brother was sliding down the hill towards us. He was frowning as though the slope was doing him a great injustice. Of course, the moment that thought hit my brain I busted out laughing.

Luke stumbled to a halt. I felt three pairs of eyes trained on me. I fought to obtain a poker face, but couldn't stop the flush seeping into my cheeks. Luke asked, "Is something funny?" I knew that they thought I was laughing at him. And that was true, so I told them that. Luke just shook his head and hopped the rest of the way down.

"Where's Bellamy?" Luke asked. I felt my stomach twist in a knot at the mention of my sister. I knew he only wanted to know, but it made me jealous all the same. _Stop it. She's four years younger than he is!_ "You didn't shoot her, did you?"

"Ten times." I said, smiling at his reference to my trigger-happy finger. Sometimes my little sister thought it was cool to hang with us and sometimes she didn't. I always liked the days she didn't. I didn't like having to share my friends. Why couldn't she go hang out with her own fourteen year old friends?

"Hey, Ru." Luke tugged on his sister's hair. Haru swatted at his hand playfully.

"Don't call me Ru!"

Luke knew she didn't mean it, but he took up the banter anyway. Dane and I laughed as they started throwing insults at each other. Haru grinned at the encouragement and shoved Luke, who didn't even budge. He went in for a tickle and Haru leaped sideways with a squeal. Her foot caught on something and she landed in the ferns. Dane picked up the object she had tripped on. It looked like a black metal cylinder with a digital clock on one side. It's numbers were red and slowly counting.

"What the heck?" Luke said. Me and Haru peeked over his shoulders to see.

Dane said, "Maybe it's a bomb?"

The rest of us looked at him in shock. When it came to electronics, explosives, weapons, ect, Dane was the expert. To us, him not knowing was like me not being trigger happy. It just wasn't possible.

"Er, Rylee?" Luke asked. We watched as Dane inspected the object, turning it over and over. His dark eyebrows were pulled deep over his gray eyes.

"We could shoot it." I suggested.

The numbers suddenly turned green and the cylinder gave a high pitched whistling sound. Luke grabbed Haru and me by our arms and hauled us backwards as fast as he could go screaming, "Chuck it, Dane, chuck it!" Dane did, but it was too late. The world around us exploded with a blinding flash and all four of us were hurtled into darkness. I could hear everyone screaming, could feel the hair-tie being ripped from my brown hair, could feel Luke's vise-like grip on my arm, but I still couldn't see a thing.

There was one thing I could tell for sure.

We were falling.

We were falling very fast.

And I didn't like it one bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Well, it seems that people like my story… or the first chapter anyways.**

**This is my very first story on Fanfiction, so I promise I am trying. I hope it didn't seem too rushed? Normally with a book I wouldn't have the time device until a few chapters in, but I was afraid you would get bored….**

**SO! I do not own The Hunger Games, nor the drunk dude, or the love-sick-puppies they named Peeta and Gale, OR the uncomfortably good looking man standing in his underwear and holding a trident (Ok, maybe there wasn't a trident involved, but you know who I'm talking about!), mutant monkeys, rose smelling lizards, or anything else of the sort.**

I think I mentioned the fact that we were falling, but just in case you didn't know- WE'RE FALLING!

It felt like eternity at warp speed. I felt as though I was aging, decaying, and then being born again many times over in just a few seconds. I could hear my friends screaming and cursing (I think that was Luke, but it could have been Haru. She had a rather foul mouth for a seventeen year old.). I also vaguely had the feeling that my right shoe was coming off. When it smacked me in the face, I was certain.

After about five minutes, I quieted down mostly because of boredom and partially because I'd lost my voice. The others were quiet, too. Luke still had hold of my arm and I realized that my fists had a death grip on his shirt. As I felt him sigh, I wondered when our ride was going to end.

And just like that, we found ourselves on a waterslide. We took up our screaming again and tried to cover our eyes from the sudden sunlight as we zoomed around corners and bends. I was in front, followed by Luke, Haru, and Dane, who I think was screaming louder than the rest of us put together. Then we were flying eight feet in the air. We landed in the pool with a giant splash. My wet, heavy clothes pulled me farther down. The three bodies on top of me wouldn't let me up. I started to thrash around, panicking. I hadn't had a chance to hold my breath. My lungs were burning! I fought the urge to suck in a mouthful of water. I needed up- now!

Somebody grabbed me around the waist and yanked me out of the water. I coughed and spluttered. My limbs were on autopilot as they continued to thrash. I was hauled onto concrete ground. Ground- safe, secure ground.

"What the % #$ do you think you were doing?!" A guy about my age was kneeling next to me. "One at a time only! You can't all go down the slide together! Are you trying to drown?"

I sat up. My friends were all sprawled around, looking at the boy who'd grabbed me. He was short, maybe around 5'10", with a medium build. He had wild black hair, black eyes, tanned skin, and a square jaw. His nose looked like it had come off of one of the Who people in Doctor Seuss- tiny and pointed upwards. He was wearing a black and blue suit that reminded me of something a scuba diver would wear. He had a scar across his left cheek.

Dane said, "No way, I thought we were on a refreshing ride."

Haru squeezed water from her hair. Her icy blue eyes were sparking dangerously. "Yell at me one more time," she said, "and you're dead."

The guy laughed nervously. "Uh, the forest, you say? You must be confused. The closest forest is miles away, closer to District Two then here. As for how and why you are here…" His black eyes took in their soaked clothes. "You guys are dressed awfully weird. I don't think I've ever seen clothes like that before. Why didn't you bring a waterproof suit?"

Luke shook his head clear of any water. "You got a place we could dry off?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, sure. Name's Rome, by the way. Like old Rome? Yeah." He looked at me again. "You're missing a shoe."

Like I didn't know.

When we had gone into the locker room that Rome had led us to we had a bit of a surprise. The whole place was made from white, rough-cut rock. Next to the doors were little cubbies made from dark wood. They held shoes, towels, and other things people want to grab the minute they walk in from swimming. When you went around the corner you entered a huge room with lockers, benches, showers, a bathroom, vanities, Jacuzzis, and a stretching area (yoga mats included). There were some massage machines that seemed to be working knots out of kids' backs. There was even this corner that had heated mats and heat vents of some sort that blew out from the walls and ceiling. Kids were standing in there getting dried off.

The lockers where made of a dark, elegant wood with brass corners and nameplates. Each locker was the size of a handy-capped bathroom stall back home (approx. 8x10). Inside, there were cubbies made from the same dark wood, brass hooks, a dark wood mirror, and a dark wood bench. In front of the bench was a heated mat, and behind it on the wall were the same blow-drying vents.

The showers were cut from the rough white stone, had five heads each, and had a panel full of buttons. The door was the same dark wood as everything else, but it must have been water-proofed in some way. Or maybe it just looked like wood.

There was one part of this locker room that I didn't like- it allowed both genders. One guy sauntered past, winked at Haru, and then laughed at our drenched clothes to a buddy. I frowned. _Jerk._

Luke pointed towards the blow-drying area and we all step onto the mats. Within minutes we, and our clothes, are dry.

I shook my head. "This is amazing."

"This is crazy." corrected Dane.

Haru flounced up to a guy who had been checking her out. Her blonde hair is sleek and full of volume from the blow-dryer, the layers falling softly on top of each other. Her tanned skin shines from its recent cleansing. No wonder he was so taken with her. I huffed, jealous. "What's your name?" asked Haru. The boy replies that his name is Glint. "What an interesting name! My name's Haru. I'm new here."

I smile at Haru's attempt to glean information from the kid without revealing that she had no clue where she was. She was doing a pretty dang good job.

"Hey, that's cool. Welcome to the District One Swim Training Center. We call it the S.C.T. for short. You'll love it here. We got great coaches and stuff." Glint crossed his arms, unconsciously showing off his muscles.

Haru giggled. "I know, I can't wait. This isn't your only training center, right? I mean, you have other gyms around, too."

Glint grinned. "Of course! We can't do into the Games only knowing how to swim. Nah, we got a weight gym, a tract, cross country, obstacle courses, fighting rings, all the stuff like that."

"Wow, this place is so much better than where I came from!" Haru was starting to look nervous.

"Yeah, be glad you got accepted in this place. It's for the best of the best. Maybe I can show you around some time?"

"That would be awesome."

"Cool. May the odds be ever in your favor." Glint winked and walked away. Haru made her way back towards us. She grabbed me and Dane's arms and dragged us into a nearby locker. Luke quickly followed. I shut the door and turned around in the cramped space.

"Rylee, I'm not liking what I'm hearing." Haru hissed. "How many times have you heard District one, so far? And Rome mentioned District Two. And then Glint said, 'May the odds be ever in your favor.'"

Luke said, "It's probably just a group of kids who have rich parents who can afford memberships to this place pretending like they are in the Hunger Games. It's not that uncommon."

I hesitated to answer. "Okay, but what about our 'trip', guys? C'mon, we just got transport magically to a place we don't know. What kind of machine was that?"

"A time machine!" Snarled Haru. "Can't you see? We got zapped into the future and now we're stuck in District One!"

Dane piped up. "Seems like it, but we can't tell that for sure. Maybe I'm just dreaming!"

Haru glared at him. "Please let me slap you. Maybe you'll wake up." She smirked. "Or maybe you won't."

"Settle down, Haru!" Luke said, jumping in to calm his sister. "I seriously think we are over-reacting."

I thought longingly of my favorite rifle back home. "Maybe we should just shoot them. Problem solved."

All three whisper-shouted, "HARU!"

"It was just a suggestion, geez."

We all filed out of the locker, trying to act natural. We walked through a door marked 'Exit' and found ourselves in a hallway leading to the lobby. We sauntered past the people arguing at the reception desk and made a break for it once we were out the door. I was slower than the rest because of my missing sneaker. I hobbled behind them as we entered an alley way.

As we took a breather, we glanced around. The streets were filled with the wackiest looking people. The craziest hair-do's, the most make-up, and the worst styled clothes were the norm here. You didn't want to see the 'fashionable' ones.

We approached a young woman with a bright purple pixie bob and a lime green sweat suit. "Excuse me, we're not from this side of town." Luke stopped her. "Could you tell us where we are?"

The girl took one look at Luke and started giggling. "You're on Greenberry Lane right now. That road down there-" She pointed. "–is the Main Street. There you can find a map of the West side of District One, also called the Rich side."

The girl looked at Luke's muscles again and giggled again. She reached out and touched his bicep and then took off at a trot, still giggling. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Luke rubbed his arm and frowned. "Well, that was… Interesting."

Haru cracked up, but I was fuming. How dare she touch a complete stranger like that! She looked about 20, which would make Luke two years younger than herself. Ew. I stormed past my friends, bent on giving the cackling pixie a lesson or two. Dane grabbed my waist before I could go too far and hauled me back, where Haru was doubled over now and Luke had an amused look on his face. I felt my heart constrict. He looked amused. Amused! I felt like I would cry. He just didn't see me that way, did he? Not that I could blame him. He could get any girl he wanted and I- No. I wasn't going to whine like the average teenage girl would. I would find somebody who thought I was pretty in my own way. _But you're not pretty._ I brushed the thought away and turned to the next person to interrogate.

Two hours later we collapsed, exhausted, in our alley way. Every person we had talked to seemed convinced that they lived in District One, Panem, and that the Hunger Games were going to start in two weeks. Night was falling, so we made a quick shelter out of cardboard boxes and went to bed hungry. Luke volunteered to keep watch first, so I rolled over and buried my face in my jacket to keep him from hearing my small sniffles. _Amused._ I curled up next to Haru, who was already snoring, and fell into a deep sleep.

Then I dreamed.

**Ok, thanks everyone for sticking with me! Sorry if this was a boring chapter. It will get better, I promise! **

**I don't know if anyone else noticed, but I have been switching tenses a lot. =/ I'm trying to find the one that fits the story the best.**

**Review please!**

**Rylee: You make me sound like a baby.**

**Well, you are the youngest of the four.**

**Rylee: But you made me cry!**

**You deserved it.**

**Rylee: Please, explain to me why, oh why, did I deserve to be made a weakling in MY story?**

**Mm, no, I don't think I will!**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everybody! Long time no see! Thanks for the kind reviews! It's not the best piece, but I will try and make it better, I promise! Haying season! AHHH! My allergies are not happy with me.**

* * *

I woke when someone repeatedly stuck their boot into my side.

Groaning and rolling over, I slapped their boot away. In return, I got kicked harder. "What?!" I yelped.

"Get up." Haru growled. "We need to move out before someone finds us."

I peeked at the sky. "It's like, 5 o'clock in the morning! No one gets up this early!"

"I do." Haru smirked. "Therefore, other people do. Now, get up before some poor old man finds four teenagers camped out in his back yard!"

"It's not a yard, it's an alleyway!" I argue. I get up anyway and slap Luke on the shoulder. "Get up, lazy bones."

"Weren't you just complaining about the time?" Luke mumbled.

"Yep." I sniggered. Luke sighed and sat up. After rubbing his eyes, he poked Dane's face. His only response was a loud snore. Luke covered Dane's mouth and the boy sat bolt upright and started choking.

"I don't LIKE mushrooms on my pizza!"

"Man up, Cupcake." Haru said. Dane just glared at her while Luke and I cracked up.

We stood up and brushed off. Our bellies rumbling, we headed down the street and looked at all the bakeries and restaurants. We were about to check the opening time on one when we discovered something- our money didn't match the District's money. So we left, our feet dragging and our tummies screaming with rage. We plodded down the street, now trying to ignore the fresh scent of the morning baking.

"Guys," I suddenly remembered. "The dogs didn't come with us. They're still in the forest!"

Luke shook his head. "I'm sure they went home."

Still, I fretted. "What if they didn't?" My voice got louder with every word. "Guys, our families don't know where we are! What if they have search parties out? What if we are stuck here forever and we never see them again? What if-"

Haru whirled on me. "Shut up, Rylee! Right now, okay? Right now. We know we are somehow in District one, or a modal of it anyway, we don't know how we got here, and frankly, I could care less about anything but food right now."

Luke said, "She's right. We need to be strong, find food, and survive. And THEN we can think about how to get back."

"Whoa, siblings who actually agree with each other?" Dane laughed. "That's unheard of! What planet are you from?"

Luke grinned. "Tree. Take me to your leader!"

"But I don't wanna go!" Dane mock-wailed. He flailed his arms like he really was a tree. "I don't wanna be made into McDonalds bags and tooth picks! I have leaves to take care of!" Haru and I screeched with laughter.

Luke said, "Oh, no, not McDonalds bags," He smiled evilly. "Posters for the new Twilight movie!"

Dane screamed in horror as Haru and I toppled to the ground in mirth. Dane tried out his new identity- striking a ridiculous pose, showing his top teeth, and putting an overly sexy, obviously fake, hilariously dangerous look and his face. Then all four of us were on the ground at that point, howling. We laughed even harder when a window opened and a woman through a shoe at us. Unfortunately it was too small for my foot.

We kept walking, this time silently. We went to Main Street and went up. Jewelry. Clothes. Food. Bank. Clothes. Food. Jewelry. Doctor's office. Food. Jewelry. Clothes. I was about to just sit down and cry along with my belly when Luke suddenly swerved to the right. "Look guys." We looked. Ahead of us was a pawn shop of sorts.

"What are we going to do, sell my other shoe?" I asked sarcastically. We all looked at Lucas. He'd gotten his clever look on his face.

Haru sighed. "Please don't tell me you plan on robbing it."

"We could shoot the owner." I suggest.

"No!" The other three say in unison. I huffed.

Stick in the muds.

* * *

The shop opened at seven o'clock and we came sauntering in. After Luke had explained his plan to us, we'd given him every bit of money on us. We'd sorted them and stored them according to type and age. If all went well, we'd be able to buy ourselves some food. The plan was that Luke and Haru were the kids of a wealthy collector. Dane and I were to be their 'Security'. If all went well, the coins and paper were hard to find. If it didn't go well, then that means there is an overabundance of old money.

The shop owner looked up. "Gah, get outa here, ya rascals!" He was a tiny, fragile little man with bushy white hair sprouting randomly from his face and head. He had overly large glasses on that magnified his eyes so large they almost took up his whole head. The old man was wearing the navy robe, hat, and slippers of a wizard, but instead of stars it was decorated with fuzzy white rabbits. He was hunched over and used sort of half crutch, half walker contraption to get around. The man was sorting some knick-knacks and a messy shelf. In fact, the whole place was messy. It was filled with shelves, boxes, and cubbies, which were in turn filled with every bobble and gadget possible. Along the wall sat large, antique, chests, drawers, wardrobes, beds, chairs, and other furniture. In a glass case, knives, axes, swords, spear tips, arrow heads, rare stones, and strings of beads were on display.

"I wish to sell you something." Luke said airily. He was attempting to use the light accent of the district people. Luke was doing a horrible job, but the elderly man didn't seem to notice. His face brightened up at the thought of a potential customer.

"Ah, yes, of course young sir." The owner hobbled closer. His blue eyes were glittering in a crazed way. He licked his lips. "Show me, show me."

Luke walked dramatically to the counter and popped a 2013 penny on the surface. The owner peered over Luke's elbow. "Is that… Is that a real… a real…?"

"A real copper penny." Luke said. He smirked at me. We both knew that coins were next to worthless from where we came from.

"2013… Nearly 300 years old…" The man mumbled. "And in like-new condition! A collector's item, for sure."

Haru and I exchanged horrified looks. Almost 300 years old? Surely not! That penny was new from the bank.

Luke merely smiled and started placing stacks of coins on the counter, finishing with a couple of dollar bills. As each pile was laid down, the shop owner would do a short of shuffling dance with his feet. "Such clean bills!" I looked at the torn, dirty, soggy money. If he said so.

"How much are they worth?" Luke demanded. Haru came over and peered at an old, broken camera that should have been brand new. In fact, it was a style I'd never seen before.

"Brother, do you think Father has a camera like this?" She said snottily. "Although, if he does, I'm sure it's in better shape than this one."

Luke smirked, but the old man turned nearly purple. "That camera is ancient! I have cleaned it up as much as I can!"

Haru shrugged. "Whatever. Let's hurry though, before Mother tells our body guards to bring us back home."

"Body guards?" said the owner quickly. "Like Peacekeepers?"

I shifted my weight in a threating manor and Dane growled. Luke snorted. "Don't call them that. It's practically an insult. These are the best trained guards that Panem can provide. They were specially trained to blend in with the population and everything."

The owner growled unhappily. "Yes, well. I think your collection here would be worth… eh, are you selling as a set or individually?"

"Whatever will get more money. " Haru snapped.

"Of course, miss." The owner eyed her hatefully. "Well, a set it is." He frowned and mumbled and danced around on his feet somemore.

"Well?" Luke asked sharply. "Better be honest, old man." In unison, both Dane and I moved our hands to our hips.

"Eh, uh…" The owner grinned in a mischievous way, his glasses lopsided. He tweaked a sprout of hair on his jawline. "Young sir- rich sir, I think 1100 would be a fair price."

I frowned inwardly. Was that a lot? What was the money worth here? And the economy? Were the coins worth more? Luke answered quickly. "1300."

The old man grinned. "1250." When Luke accepted that, the owner tossed his contraption aside and did a Snoopy dance, cackling. A plump woman hurried out of the back room. She had long green hair, claw-like nails, and flower chains tattooed on her cheekbones. She waved an olive skinned hand at the old man. "Mr. Ferguson! Go back and sort the garden statues. You know better than to lowball like that!"

The old man glared at her and muttered under his breath. "… women… always getting what….tell them… I think!... snarkin', holly-jumpin', basket-weavin'…" He exited the room.

The lady smiled apologetically. "He's quite the scammer. Gives the store a bad name if he's left on his own. That set should go for 3000. I've already got a buyer. He's been looking for this kind of thing for months."

"Wow, thanks." Haru blinked.

The lady narrowed her eyes. "You kids obviously don't know what this is worth. You didn't steal this from your Papa, did you?" She place her hands on her hips and some of her green hair fell forward into her face.

"No, he didn't tell us what it was worth. He just told us to get a good price." Haru said, mock confusion in her voice.

"Ah, well, go along dears, thank you for your business!" The lady pinched Luke's cheek. Haru snickered.

The four of us stumbled out of the shop. "Gosh Rylee, did you see that crazy old man?" Luke asked me. "Jumping around like some crazed chimpanzee!"

I shook my head. "I personally was in awe of the fuzzy bunny rabbits on his wizard clothes!"

We tromped across the street to were a restaurant was accepting its first costumers of the day and sat down in a booth. We ordered and talked to our neighbors until our food arrived. According to them, they were from the Capital (on vacation, and the last years Hunger Games was rather boring, so this years' was expected to be a great one. It was the Hundredth Quarter Quell, and therefore a promise of its own. One woman proudly told us that last year's King and Queen were from District One.

"King and Queen?" asked Dane. "I thought there was only a Victor?"

A second woman giggled. She used her napkin to dap at her purple cheeks. "Where _have_ you been, boy? We haven't used the word 'Victor' ever since the rules changed. Thanks to that traitor Katniss Everdeen twenty-five years back, we have Kings and Queens now."

* * *

** Ok, I wasn't planning on stopping here, but I fell terribly guilty about not updating sooner. It's been a crazy haying week! Anyway, how is it? Please review and tell me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry it's been so long since if updated! It's just been coming out so much worse than I'd hoped, I've been very unmotivated to continue it. Anyway, I'm still trying to develop the character's personalities. Dane's is unusually hard and I keep making Riley a goody-two-shoes. AHHHH!**

** Anyway, I do not own Hunger Games and I never will.**

"Oh. My. God."

My face was plastered up against a window. "It's gorgeous. Just look at it, Dane. Can you imagine?"

Dane snorted. "Can I imagine you blowing our heads off with it? Yes."

"Wow, thanks." I said, peeling my eyes from the gorgeous, futuristic, sniper's rifle sitting in the store's window. "Nice to know your level of confidence in me."

With full bellies and clean clothes, we were now wandering idly through the town. I mean, what was there to do, really? We had no way to go back home. We didn't have a house we could go to. We knew nobody… So, we shopped. I even got a new pair of shoes. Turns out that the money we got is very similar to what we were used to.

Haru eyed the gun. "Actually, maybe we could use some weapons."

Luke laughed. "Are you just going to lug a rifle everywhere you go? I don't even know if these things are legal without a permit or something."

"Has that ever stopped us?" I asked mischievously, remembering the time when the four of us had taken Dane's dad's truck out for a spin. And okay, so we were only eleven. So what?

Haru smirked. "No, it hasn't." She started to push her way inside.

"Maybe we should get some more discreet things, instead." Reasoned Luke. "Like knives or handguns."

"Psh, we don't need those _discreet_ things!" Dane joked. "I want the biggest, bad-ass toy they got in there!"

I punched his arm. "I'm going to enjoy seeing you try to flirt with a girl with something like that!"

"Yeah, uh, hey babe." Luke said mockingly. "Want to sign my cannon?"

Haru shook her head despairingly. "Brothers!" She giggled.

"Okay," I said, "So some knives, handguns-"

"Ninja stars." Dane said.

"-Ninja stars-"

"A hatchet." Haru smiled.

"-A hatchet-"

"A sword." Said Luke.

"-a sword-"

"Explosives." Said Dane.

"Explos-" I busted out laughing. "How about we stick to the knives and guns?"

Haru said, "We'd better, or we'll have the Peacekeepers and one giant bill chasing us around!"

"Fine, but I still get my rifle." I realized nobody heard me. They were all staring over my shoulder. "Guys? What are you-"

"**HELLO, PANEM!**"

I shrieked and jumped into the air about three feet. Whirling around, I saw that a giant TV had popped out of the ground and turned itself on. I smiling lady in green plaid was holding a microphone to her mouth. Her hair was black and white, like a skunk's, and in dreadlocks. What a bad combo.

"**Only thirteen more days before the 125****th**** Hunger Games! Who's excited?"**

I heard whoops and hollers erupt from the large crowd gathered below the TV screen.

"**I am too! Who are this year's tributes going to be? Which District will bring home the honor? Will there be a King and Queen, or just a Victor? Most importantly- What is the Quarter Quell going to be?!**"

The crowd chanted, "District One! District One!"

And that was all I heard from the mysterious TV set, because once again Haru was pulling the four of us into a secluded spot. "This is crazy! We have to find a way home!"

"You do that, O Magical Time Machine Finder." Dane growled. There was a whirl of color and movement. The next thing I knew, Dane was lying on his back with a bloody nose.

"What… did I just see?" mumbled Luke.

"I think your little sister just punched your best friend." I replied. "But then again, I'm not sure."

"Oh, shut it." Haru snarled. "I'm so sick of you guys acting like this is a game! We're in this for real, and there is no freaking way I'm going to just stand around and wait for the next time machine to come around!"

"Haru…" Luke warned.

"Don't Haru me! You're just as bad as they are! Worse, even! You're the oldest here. Don't tell me that you are taking this seriously. If you-"

"Haru!"

"What?!"

At that moment, a large, white, van-like vehicle flew around the corner and slid to a halt next to us. The doors where thrown open. Four men in white peacekeeper's uniforms dashed out and surrounded us. They pointed white, futuristic guns at us. Inside the van, a pale face smiled at us. The face was owned by a tall, wispy figure clad in a ruffled, plum colored suit. The man tapped a slim black shoe on the carpeted floor and his long, narrow fingers uncorked a bottle of wine. The man swirled the bottle around and took a whiff. "Mm, I daresay this is one of my best bottles. Would you like some?"

"Uh, no?" Luke said uncertainly.

The man frowned. He set the bottle down and clasped his thin hands together. He shook his head slowly and tut-tutted. "No, _please_, young man. Did your mother never teach you manners?" He slicked back his already greasy black hair. "Let's try again. Would you like to come and sit down with me?"

"No, thank you." Dane said. "Might get your nice outfit all bloody."

The man smiled slowly. "Ah, sir, did you fall? Let me help you." He clapped his ruffled hands together and the driver got out of the van. He handed Dane a damp handkerchief.

Haru demanded, "Who are you?"

His Great Ruffled-ness turned towards her. "My mannors! I daresay they are as bad as Skippy's over there." He smiled again as Luke gritted his teeth and said, "Skippy?"

"My name during the day is Mayer Ebony Moore. At night… well, then I'm just known as Eb. You may call me whatever you wish."

"What do you want?" I challenged. The part about his night-name worried me.

Ebony Moore frowned. "How rude! But I will answer your question anyway." He took up the bottle of wine again and poured himself a glass. The liquid was plum-colored, mush like his clothing. "My, er, _friends_, have been over-hearing your, ah, _conversations_, and it's safe to say that we must, um, _question_ you."

Haru and I simultaneously crossed our arms.

"We're not going anywhere with you." Luke growled. He twisted his head to look at one of the peacekeepers, who hefted his gun in response.

Dane rubbed his eyes and stretched. "Ya know, it's getting kind of late. Maybe we should all rest and we could meet up with you tomorrow?"

Mayer Moore raised his eyebrow. It wasn't even sunset yet. He took another sip of his plum wine and sighed heavily. "You know, maybe it is getting late. You should come back to my place to rest." He snapped his fingers and sat back.

A peacekeeper grabbed Haru and started to drag her towards the van. "Riley, run!" She screamed and started clawing at the peacekeeper's helmet. It slid off and hit the cement with a crunch. The peacekeeper pinned her arms to her sides, but then Haru twisted and bit his nose. He threw her roughly on the ground. I heard her grunt and she didn't move.

"Haru!" Luke howled. He socked a peacekeeper that was pointing a gun at him and rushed his sister's side. I stood frozen, watching her. Blood was trickling out of her mouth. My heart pounded against my chest. This was all wrong, so wrong.

I realized that another peacekeeper had been shouting at me. I started walking forward. I stopped next to Haru, but the man poked me in the back with his gun. I continued onwards and barely felt Dane slip his arm around my shoulders. In a daze, I climbed into the van as Luke picked up Haru's limp body.

***Bangs head against wall* C'mon guys, help me out! I need to get motivated so I can fix this story! Please Review! It's almost as good as watermelon.**


	5. Important Author's Note

**This is an Author's Note! It is very important. So, since my story is not going as planned, I have decided to change it. The characters will be more like the ones in my dream (This story is based on a dream I had) which was my friends and I. The characters will also be more the real life ones and their relationships are going to be like they were when I had my dream (Which sucks and rules at the same time). Please bear with me, my few readers, but I promise this will come out WAAAAY better.**


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